The Sting of Betrayal
by Sparkles of Youthfulness
Summary: It does not matter whether you are good or bad. Betrayal will always hurt.


I don't believe this one-shot was executed as well as some of my others, but at the moment I feel content with it. This is a story focusing on Master Cyclonis and Dark Ace, because I just love writing angsty stuff for them! And now, enjoy!

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The Sting of Betrayal

By

Sparkles of Youthfulness

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"You must be mistaken." Her voice was strong, although if one listened closely, you could hear the disbelief in her voice. "He would not do that."

Raves' eyes closed for a moment before she looked back to Master Cyclonis. "I'm sorry; you're Highness, but… We saw him. Dark Ace… He helped the Storm Hawks." Snipe stood by his sister, nodding in confirmation as Master Cyclonis looked to him. "Snipe and I had them cornered, but he passed along a pouch of powerful crystals to the one named Aerrow when he thought we were preoccupied." She paused, taking a deep breathe. "It was with those crystals that we were defeated.

"You are mistaken." She hissed, glaring at the siblings. "He would not do that!"

Ravess and Snipe flinched, and they bowed. "Yes, Master Cyclonis." The two shared a nervous glance before returning their gazes to their leader. They knew what they had seen. But would she believe them?

Master Cyclonis' teeth were clenched, and her hands were holding the arms of her throne tightly. "Tell no one of this meeting." She growled, her tone low and threatening. "Dismissed!"

Her subordinates quickly nodded and bowed once more before exiting the room, leaving Master Cyclonis to her thoughts.

'_He… Betrayed me?'_ Master Cyclonis thought, her brows furrowed in anger. "Dark Ace betrayed me?!" She whispered, her eyes widening as if she was just realizing that it was possible for him to do that. She glared darkly at the floor, trying to process the emotions that the news brought. Anger. Rage. Betrayal. Sadness and Hurt?

"Why do I feel this?" She questioned, placing a hand on her chest. "Why does it hurt?"

She blinked, a sudden wetness coming to her eyes. The warm liquid fell from her eyes and left a moist trail down her cheeks. It took her a few moments to realize what exactly the liquid was. "Tears," She murmured, bringing a hand to her eyes. She wiped a few away, allowing the moisture to pool in her hand. She stared at her hand in a strange fascination. Dark Ace's betrayal had made her cry? Made her show weakness?

"Why am I crying?" She asked herself, her eyes glued to her hand as it caught more and more of the tears that fell from her face. "Dark Ace is just a servant. A pawn so I can reach my destiny. He is nothing." She muttered, flinging the small puddle of tears off her hand._ 'He is nothing, but his betrayal…'_

"It stings." She clutched her chest, her tears beginning to multiply. She choked back a sob of hurt and anger. The hurt came from his betrayal, but the anger had two sources. Betrayal, and the fact that she was showing weakness, and she could not stop. _'This is the second worst thing that could happen.'_ Master Cyclonis mused bitterly. _'It least he won't be comin-'_ Her thought process seem to freeze as the door opened.

Dark Ace entered the throne room, mouth open to say something. But as he got a good look at Master Cyclonis, he stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. "M-master Cyclonis?"

Master Cyclonis stared back, frozen and vulnerable. Rarely did she show a lot of emotion. But she had never broken down like this, not since she was a child. She only knew one way to handle the emotions that were currently plaguing her. So she handled it, channeling all of her hurt and sorrow into raw anger and rage.

"How dare you." She hissed, getting to her feet. She stalked toward Dark Ace, not bothering to wipe the tears from her eyes. "How dare you come back here!"

Dark Ace stepped back, unable to say anything, too caught up in seeing the state his leader was in.

"You dare to return to me, after helping the Storm Hawks!?" She roared, standing less than two feet from Dark Ace.

Dark Ace paled, his eyes widening. How had she known?! He couldn't move. It was as if he was glued in place.

Master Cyclonis glared darkly at her subordinate, her anger beginning to divide into other emotions. Tears began to fall from her eyes again, and she bowed her head, fists clenched. The pain in her chest seemed to double. "It hurts." She mumbled, clenching her chest again. She didn't like pain, especially not the emotional kind. She took a few steps back and began to compose herself. "Do you admit to your betrayal?" She said coldly, staring at Dark Ace behind a mask of indifference.

It was at that time that Dark Ace seemed to be able to talk. "Master Cyclonis…" He paused, his head bowing. "Yes… I betrayed Cyclonia."

Master Cyclonis wanted to cry out, to scream in anguish. To hurt Dark Ace as he had hurt her. But she didn't. She called for a group of guards, and her call was quickly met. A group of Talons, including Snipe and Ravess, entered.

"Arrest him." Master Cyclonis said quietly, hiding her pain behind her mask.

The Talon guards gaped, but Ravess and Snipe quickly acted. They knew what he had done. They stripped Dark Ace of his weapons and cuffed his hands. Dark Ace made no motion to escape, and followed them quietly. As he was led out the door, he turned to meet Master Cyclonis' eyes, barely catching her words.

"You won't live to hurt me again."

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Well, there ya go! I just wondered what Master Cyclonis might think if one of her most loyal Talons betrayed her. A lot of people think she wouldn't really care if he betrayed her, besides the obvious anger of course. Like if he died, as with what happened in my one-shot "I Swear It, Big Brother", she wouldn't care if she wasn't related to him. But I think she is more emotional than that, she just hides it because she views it as weakness. She would probably be greatly affected by Dark Ace's betrayal or death. Not that that will ever really happen. -gryn-


End file.
